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Opinion: California slavery reparations are about more than cash payments

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

When the reaction of state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to recommendations by the state task force on reparations was described as “cool,” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber let out a slight, knowing chuckle.“I hope many of those who supported the work of the task force would still see the value of it and continue to support it,” said Weber, who as a member of the Assembly carried the legislation in 2020 that created the panel.The bill was passed with broad backing from Democratic legislators and signed by the governor, who had been an outspoken advocate of repairing the damage the legacy of slavery has had on generations of Black Californians.Weber, D-San Diego, soon was appointed secretary of state by Newsom and was sworn in to office in January 2021.Newsom and many of those lawmakers have since become circumspect in their reactions to the task force proposals, if they have offered any response at all.The caution grew after estimates surfaced th...

Krugman: So much for claims that Big Government has made Americans lazy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot, had some negative things to say about his fellow Americans in an interview last December. “Socialism,” he opined, has destroyed the work ethic: “Nobody works. Nobody gives a damn. ‘Just give it to me. Send me money. I don’t want to work — I’m too lazy, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid.’”You’re naive if you think his take is exceptional. Without question, rich men are constantly saying similar things at country clubs across America. More important, conservative politicians are obsessed with the idea that government aid is making Americans lazy, which is why they keep trying to impose work requirements on programs such as Medicaid and food stamps despite overwhelming evidence that such requirements don’t promote work — but do create red-tape barriers that deny help to people who really need it.I’m not under the delusion that facts will change such people’s minds. But everyone else should know that over the past year we have, in effect, conducted a...

Southern California community declares local emergency, residents consider post-landslide future

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

The land movement that destroyed 12 homes in a Rolling Hills Estates neighborhood this weekend — and has continued sending 10 of those buildings sliding toward a canyon — has slowed, officials said Tuesday, July 11, the same day the City Council declared a local state of emergency.The shifting land, meanwhile, also broke a sewer line, forcing five additional homes on Peartree Lane to be evacuated, though the earth under those homes is not moving, officials said.Still, the stark reality of the tragedy, as well as its ongoing fallout, belied the placid and suburban normalcy to which the Rolling Hills Park Villas outwardly returned on Tuesday. Residents took out their garbage. They walked their dogs. They made runs to the grocery store.Even the mail arrived.But normal doesn’t really exist on Peartree Lane.Instead, a dozen homes are cracking and crumbling. Most will become rubble. Their owners face an uncertain future. And even those whose homes are safe are now confronting the uncomfor...

How America’s push for the atomic bomb spawned enduring radioactive waste problems in St. Louis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press.Decades later, even with much of the cleanup complete, the aftereffects haunt the region. Federal health investigators have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste. A grade school closed last year amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s. The AP examined hundreds of pages of internal memos, inspection reports and other items dating to the early 1950s, and found nonchalance and indifference to the risks of materials used in the development of nuclear weapons during an...

Broadcom’s $61 billion deal to buy VMware gets cleared by European Union regulators

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

Computer chip and software maker Broadcom’s $61 billion proposed purchase of cloud technology company VMware got the green light Wednesday from European Union regulators who were satisfied by concessions to ease competition concerns.The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said Broadcom made comprehensive commitments to provide access and system connections to its only existing rival, Marvell, as well as any other potential future competitors. The commission said the concessions mean the deal “would no longer raise competition concerns.” The approval from the 27-nation bloc is conditional on Broadcom living up to its commitments for 10 years, with an independent trustee monitoring compliance. The commission had opened an in-depth investigation last year over worries that the combination of Broadcom hardware and VMware software could lock out rival technology. The deal still faces scrutiny elsewhere. Britain’s competition regulator...

How behavioral economics can help you save on airfare

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

It’s not just you: Shopping for airfare is harder than ever. Choosing between basic economy and regular economy fares and navigating add-on fees makes booking more complicated, and that’s no accident. Airlines are harnessing lessons from a still-emerging academic field known as behavioral economics to nudge customers into spending more.“Behavioral economics was developed by incorporating ideas from psychology into standard economic theories,” says Cait Lamberton, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “If you see a deal that is available for only a short amount of time, and you pay more than you usually would, standard economics would say you’ve made an irrational decision. Behavioral economics says that no, what your brain is doing is responding to scarcity.”These seemingly irrational choices are called “biases,” many of which can affect how we shop. For example, “loss aversion” makes us hyper-sensitive to losing money and more likely to ...

Thailand’s Election Commission says a reformist candidate for prime minister may have broken law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Election Commission said Wednesday it concluded there is evidence that the top candidate to become the country’s next prime minister, a reformist with strong backing among progressive young voters, violated election law and referred his case to the Constitutional Court for a ruling.The commission’s decision included a request that the court order Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat suspended as a member of Parliament until the ruling is issued. Thai media reported that the court would not make any ruling on Wednesday and indicated that it might need some time to consider the issue.Pita can still be nominated on Thursday when Parliament meets to vote for a new prime minister. But the commission’s move raises new doubts about whether he can muster enough votes to get the post, already a struggle because of Thailand’s deep political divisions. The Move Forward Party, with a progressive reformist platform, swept to a surprise first-place fin...

3 tax prep firms shared ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ data about taxpayers with Meta, lawmakers say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years. Their report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer shared with the social media giant. In a letter to the heads of the IRS, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog, seven lawmakers say their findings “reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms.” Their report said highly personal and financial information about sources of taxpayers’ income, tax deductions and exemptions was made accessible to Meta as taxpayers used the tax software to prepare their taxes.That data came to Meta through its Pixel code, which the tax firms installed on their websit...

Muere una escaladora solitaria después de caer más de 150 metros desde una cresta en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas de Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

(CNN) — Una mujer de 26 años de Boulder, Colorado, murió después de caer aproximadamente 152 metros mientras escalaba una cresta en solitario en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Rocosas del estado este domingo, dijo el Parque.El compañero de escalada de 27 años de la mujer no identificada llamó a los guardaparques para informar que su compañera había caído de Blitzen Ridge en la montaña Ypsilon, dijo el Servicio de Parques Nacionales en un comunicado este lunes.El free-soloing es una técnica de escalada en roca arriesgada en la que los escaladores ascienden sin cuerdas, asistencia ni equipo de seguridad, dejándolos sin protección en caso de caída.Mueren cinco mexicanos en accidente de helicóptero rumbo al EverestLos miembros del equipo de búsqueda y rescate alcanzaron al compañero de escalada ileso este domingo por la noche, aunque su ubicación les obligó a solicitar la asistencia de la Guardia Nacional Aérea de Colorado, dijo el Parque. Se utilizó un helicóptero de la Base ...

Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's shakes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Investigators say a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife researched how to poison her and get away with it, searching online for answers to questions like "Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”On Wednesday, prosecutors are set to present their evidence against James Craig to a judge to show that he should stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig in March.Police believe James Craig, 45, laced her pre-workout protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide, so he could be with a woman he was having an affair with, according to court documents. He has yet to be asked to enter a plea to the charge. Aurora dentist accused of poisoning his wife to death James Craig's lawyer, David M. Beller, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.Angela Craig died after being taken off life support during her third trip to the hospital in March. She was married to her husband for 23 years and the mother of six children, according to her obituary.As s...